P.279
Analítico de Periódico
BURGOA, Elena
Hacia una nueva regulación de la prescripción en los delitos contra la administración pública : un debate de actualidad
Themis, Coimbra, A.8,n.14(2007), p.139-180
DELITO, ADMINISTRAÇÃO PÚBLICA, DIREITO CONSTITUCIONAL, CONCURSO DE INFRACÇÕES
In this article one will assess the legitimacy and the purpose of the periods of prescription (extensions of the criminal statute of limitations) to commence proceedings and also the ongoing periods of prescription reformation proposals within the fight against corruption taking place in several jurisdictions. By analysing the mechanics underlying this legal concept, one will recall that there are circumstances (e.g. the suspension of the statute of limitations) which serve as checks and balances within the system, provided that these are all constrained, thus enabling one to reinstate the system's fairness. By increasing legal time, by disregarding periods of prescription (imprescriptibility) or causing its eternal delay one does not achieve any forestalling of the effects of time. As Dalí's imagery and Proust's prose demonstrate, time is no forgiver. Without the legal concept the applicability of the criminal statute of limitations, State power will simply turn out to be aggression once more.